Receptacle filling apparatus



.April 27, 1948. P. AUBERMAN RECEPTACLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed July 1,1946 6 Sheets-Sheet l I April 27, 1948. P AUBERMAN 2,449,354

RECEPTACLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed July 1, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 [Ille11 tor April 27, 1948. P. AUBERMAN RECEPTACLE FILLING APPARATUS FiledJuly 1, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 flfierju erman 4/ a Attorneys 6Sheets-Sheet 5 P. AUBERMAN RECEPTACLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed July 1,194's April 27, 1948,.

R R Y R Inventor flierjzebezvnan April 27, 1948. P, AUBERMAN 2,440,354

RECEPTACLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed'July l, 1946 6 SheetsSheet 6 InventorB, @Mm wi way Patented Apr. 27, 1948 UNIT ED STATES i le-TENT ()FFICE.

REQEPTACLE FILLING APPARATUS Peter Aubernian, Caldwell, IdahoApplication July 1, 1946, Serial No. 680,666

6 Claims. 1.

This invention relates toan apparatus for feeding small articles orproducts, or granular or like materials, to receptacles; preparatory toplacing them in a treating chamber.

In ordinary or prior apparatus of this kind, the quantityof articles,products, or materials fed to th'e receptaoles varies according to therate of supply. thereof to the receptacles as they are moved along at auniform speed by conveying means. As a result of this, the articles,products, or materials are not properly or uniformly treated,th'etreatrnent being excessive when the quantity isgreater. The outcomeis, therefore, a non-uniform and unsatisfactory product of thetreatment.

The primary object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide anapparatus-of the above kind embodying novel and efficient means toautomatically speed up and slacken' the movement of the receptacleconveying means in accordance.

with'sthe volume of the articles, products, or ma teri'als delivered tothe receptacles, whereby to securebedsof uniform thickness of sucharticles, products, or material in the receptacles and thereby 'insureuniform and satisfactory treatment of the articles; etc.

While'the present invention is primarily designedi'for use'in fillingtrays with foods and other articles; products and materialsfor drying,itis equallyadaptable for use where the treatment is other: than drying.

The invention contemplatesv theprovision of a feedv conveyor forthe'receptacle filling means which is tiltable about. a horizontal axisand whichisloaded by weight or spring to normally swingyupwardlyand toswingupwardly or downwardly in accordance with the volume of thearticles, products or materials delivered thereto.-

The 'receptacle conveyingmeans is driven by a motor" through a variablespeed transmission device having aspeedcontrol mechanism which includesa'lea-dscrew rotatable inone direction to increase the'speed 'of theconveyingmeans and in the opposite directionto-decrease the speedthereof; Reversible. driving means is provided for the lead screw whichhas areversing device connectedand. responsive to the tilting movementsof the'feed conveyor.

The invention further contemplates a receptacleconveying means includingconveyor belts, and trays adapted to be. placed on said conveyorbeltsto. receive the articles, products or material to betreated. Thefeed conveyor discharges into a feed hopper which delivers intothe'trays and has a bottom outlet providedwith a movable closure gate,means being provided for automatically closing the gate when thevertical transverse walls of the trays register withthe hopper outlet,so as to prevent delivery onto said walls and to automatically open thegate when said walls move out 01 registry with the hopper outlet so asto permit deposition of the articles, products, or material in beds ofuniform thickness Within said trays.

The articles, products, or materials are delivered to the feed conveyorby means including an endless belt conveyor, and are spread in an evenbed on the latter by a vertically movable spreader. Means is provided toautomatically raise and lower the spreader in accordance with the volumeof articles or the like delivered to said endless belt conveyor from thevariable source of supply, such means being operatively connected to areversible shaft of the reversible driving means for the lead screw ofthe transmission device control mechanism.

The exact nature of the present invention, as well as more specificobjects and features thereof, will become apparent from the followingdescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which-- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatusconstructed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view thereof,

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 looking at the opposite side ofthe apparatus,

, Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 4-4 of Figure2,

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-45 of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 1! of Figure 2,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing the gate of thehopper open as allowed when thetransverse walls of the trays move out ofregistry with the outlet of the hopper from the position of Figure 2,

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure l illustrating a modification ofthe apparatus,

Figure 10 is a fragmentary end view looking toward the right of Figure 9so as to more clearly reveal details of the modification, and

Figure 11 is a wiring diagram illustrating the manner in which thereversing switch controls the reversible motor, of the modificationshown inFigures 9-and 10, by which the lead screw of 'a suitable framehaving journaled transversely of and within the upper portion thereofone end roller 6 of an endless conveyor belt I that leads from thesource of supply of the articles, products or materials to be treated.The articles, products, or materials are delivered in varying volumefrom the source of supply by the conveyor belt I. An intermediate beltconveyor 8 is provided in the upper portion of frame to receive thematerial or the like discharged from the belt I, which conveyor 3 isdriven by a suitable motor 9 mounted on the frame 5. Pivotally mountedat one end within the frame 5, as at it, is a spreader frame ll that isarranged directly over the conveyor 8 and has a V-shaped spreader. l2fixed therein with its pointed end directed toward the receiving end ofthe conveyor 8. The spread er l2 spreads the material in an even layeron the belt of conveyor 8 for substantially the full width thereof, thethickness of the bed of material depending upon the distance to whichthe spreader is adjusted from the upper flight of the belt of conveyor8. Means is provided for automatically swinging the frame ll so as toadjust the spreader 52 relative to the belt of conveyor 8 in accordancewith the volume of material discharged thereon, as will be laterdescribed.

A relatively short feed conveyor of the endless belt type, indicated at53, is mounted directly beneaththe discharge end of conveyor 8 toreceive the material or the like from the latter. The frame of conveyorI3 is pivotally mounted at one end, as at It, so as to be tiltable abouta a horizontal axis, and the frame of this conveyor has an arm 15 whichis rigid therewith and pro jects beyond the pivot Hi. A weight It isslidable on the arm iti so as to adjustably counterbalance the conveyorl3 when a predetermined volume of material or the like is delivered tothe latter. It will thus be apparent that the conveyor [3 will rise andfall or swing upwardly and downwardly about the pivot is in accordancewith the volume of material or the like delivered thereto.

The feed conveyor l3 discharges into a hopper I! mounted in the frame 5directly below the discharge end of conveyor 13, and which has a bottomoutlet provided with a movable closure gate It. From the hopper H thematerial or the like is discharged into trays Ii! which are carried pastthe hopper by means of a conveying means including spaced conveyor belts2|. Thisconveying means extends from a source ofsupply of the trays, andthe trays are placed on the belts 2! in end-to-end relation as shown.

Means is provided for automatically closing the gate is when thevertical transverse walls of the trays iii are in registry with theoutlet of hopper 11 so as to prevent delivery of the material'or thelike onto said walls, and to automatically open the gate when said wallsmove out of registry with the hopper outlet, so as to permit dischargeof the material or the like in beds of uniform thickness within saidtrays. This means may consist of a lever 22 secured on a rock shaft 23,mounted in front of the hopper ll and provided with depending arms 23,each having a roller 24 at its lower end arranged to ride across thetransverse walls of the trays. A flexible member 25 is attached to theupper end of lever 22 and passes vrearwardly around an idler pulley orguide 26. From the guide 25, the flexible member 25 passes around and isattached to a further pulley 2i secured on the shaft of gate ill.- Thearrangement is such that when the rollers pass into a tray, the lever 22is allowed to swing in a direction to provide slack in the flexiblemember 25 so that the gate l8 may swing downwardly to open position bygravity. The arrangement is also such that when the rollers 25 ride ontothe transverse walls of the trays l9, the lever 22 is swung in adirection to exert a pull on the flexible member 25 and thereby causethe gate it to swing upwardly to closed position. The arms 23' of shaft23 are sufficiently heavy to cause the lever 22 to normally swing in adirection to provide slack in flexible member 25.

At the discharge end of the conveying means,- the belts 2! thereof passaround rollers 28- se-- cured on a transverse shaft 2% which is operatively connected by a chain gearing 29 with the driven shaft 39 of avariable speed transmission device 3| which is pref rably of the typedis closed in the U. S. patent to G. T. Pfl-eg'eri- 2,189,294, datedFebruary 6, 1340. As disclosed in said patent, the transmission device3i is provided with a driving motor 32 which is in driving relation withan adjustable pulley structure which, by means of a belt, drives anotheradjustable pulley structure mounted on the driven shaft 3t. Also thetransmission device 3! has a speed control mechanism that includes alead screw as indicated at 33, which is rotatable in one direction toincrease the speed of the driven shaft 3i? and the conveying meansdriven thereby, and in the opposite direction to decrease the speedthereof.

Reversible driving means is provided for the lead screw 33 which has areversing device corlnected and responsive to the tilting movements ofthe feed conveyor l3. In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 8, inclusive,this reversible driving means includes a transverse driven shaft 34operatively connected by a chain or like gearing 5 and a spur gearing S6with the lead screw 33. The reversing device includes two frames 37 and38 loosely mounted on the shaft 3d intermediate their ends for rockingmovement, each of said} frames having an idler pulley 39 at one are anda drive pulley 43 at the other end which s'e cured upon a drive shaftii. The pulleys 38 arid- 40 of frame 31 are located directly above thereturn strand of one of the belts 2!, while the pulleys 39 and All ofthe frame as are located directly beneath said strand. Also, the pulley4d of frame 31 is located at one side of the shaft 84, while the pulley5!! of the other frame is located at the opposite side of said shaft.Each driven pulley ll) is operatively connected by a belt or othernon-positive gearing 1 2 with the shaft 34. The arrangement is such thatwhen corresponding ends of the frames 31 and 38 are moved toward eachother the idler pulley 39 of frame 31 and the drive pulley All of frame33 are brought into engagement with the adjacent belt 2! so that saidpulley 40 of frame 38 is driven thereby in one direction, the idlerpulley 39 of frame 38 and the drive pulley cc of frame 3? beingsimultaneously moved away from and out of engagement with said belt. Thearrangement is also such that when said corresponding ends of the frames31 and 38 are moved apart the idler pulley 39 of frame 38 and the drivepulley id of frame 31 are moved into engagement with the belt 21, whilethe idler pulley 39 of frame 37 and the drive pulley 45} of frame 38 aresimultaneously moved out of engagement with the belt 2|. The engagementof the drive pulley ill of frame 31 with belt 2| causes shaft 34 to bedriven in the opposite direction, and it'will thus be seen that the leadscrew'33 may be turned inoppo site directions to automatically"speed'upand s-lacken the movement of 'theconvey'ing belts 2|. In orderto automatically speed up and 'slacken the movementof the conveyingbelts2lin' accordance with thevolume ofthe articles or the likedeliveredto the feedccnveyor l3, the na e of the latter is operativelyconnected to corresponding ends of the frames 3T'and 38 by means of anadjustable link 43, a bell c'rank lever 45, and toggle links '45, asmore clearly" shown in Figure I. The arrangement is such that when thefeed conveyor '13 isover-balan'ced to swing downwardly by the material'delivered'thereto and against the action of weight lfiftheends o'ftheframes 3! and 38 to which the toggle links 45 arelconnected will bedrawn together so as to engage the drive pulley 48 of frame '38 with theadjacentbe'lt 2|. Motion is transmitted from this engaged pulley 40 'tothe lead screw'33 through the gearing described, whereby to rotate saidlead screw in the proper direction'to cause the belts 2| to be speededup. The arrangement is alsosuch'that when the supply'of material or thelike't'o the feed conveyor I3 is diminished toanextent whichallows theweight I 6 to swing the -conveyor'l3 upwardly, the ends of'th'e frames3? and "38 to'which' the toggle links 45 are connected will be' spreadapart and thedrive pulley 49 of frame 31 will be engaged with theadjacent belt'2|. 'As'the drive pulleys 40 are atppposite sides or facesof'the adjacentbelt 2|, it' will' be apparent that the engagement ofpulley 4iifof frame?! with, the beltzl will cause the lead screw 33ftobe turned in'the opposite 'direction for slackening the movement of thebeltsZl. The conveying means which carries thetrays past the hopper isthus automatically speeded up and slackenecl in speed in accordance withthe volume of the material or the like delivered to the feed conveyorl3. In this way, the material 'or the like is discharged into the traysf9 "so as to secure bedscf the material or the like in such trays whichare of uniform thickness. Thus, the material or the like will receive auniform and satisfactory treatment.

The conveying belt 2| with which the reversing device is associated hasits lower or return strand passed about superposed guide pulleys 4B and41, the latter of which is secured upon a trans verse shaft 48journalecl in the frame 5. The shaft 48 is thus driven by the belt 2|referred to, and motion is transmitted from the pulley 4'! to a shaft ofthe conveyor l3 by means of belt or like gearings 49 and 50.

Means is provided, as hereinbefore mentioned, for automatically raisingand lowering the spreader I2 in accordance with the volume of materialdelivered to the belt conveyor 8, thereby providing for proper elevationof the spreader I2 in accordance with the thickness of the bed ofmaterial to be spread thereby on the belt of said conveyor 8. This meansincludes a small winding drum 5| secured on a transverse shaft 52journaled in the frame 5 above the spreader l2 and its frame I One endof a flexible member 53 is attached to the drum 5!, and the other endthereof is secured to the free end of the frame H, as at 54. Shaft 52carries a pulley 55, around which passes a driving belt 56 that alsopasses around another pulley 51 secured on the reversible shaft 34. Thearrangement is such that, as the shaft 34 is driven in one direction tospeed up the conveying belts 2%, shaft 52 is driven was to windtheflexible member 53' on drum 5| and'thereby elevate the frame H andthe spreader l2 carried thereby. The arrangement is also such'that whenshaft 34 is driven in the'opposite direction to slacken the speed of thebelts '2'|,*drum 5| is rotated in a direction to unwind the flexiblemember 53- and allow the frame andits' spreader l2 to lower. The pulleyon shaft 34 which receives the belts at 42 may drive said shaft 34through a slip-clutch, so that excessive turning of lead screw 33. anddrum 5| is'prevented. It will be understood that the 'conveyingb'elts 2|are speeded up when the supplyof'material or the like to feed conveyoritincreases. It follows, therefore, that atthis tinie'the' volume ofmaterial deposited on conveyor' B is 'increasedand that the spreader l2should'be raised at such time as has been explained. Conversely,conveying belts 2| are slackened in speed when the volume of material orthe like delivered to' the conveyor l3 is diminished'. *For this reason,the material delivered to conveyor 8 will also be diminished and thespreader l2 should be and is lowered to properly Spread'the thinnerlayer of material on the bel of conveyor 8 as has been explained.

In the embodiment of Figures 9 toll, inclusive, a reversibleelectri'c'motor 58' is provided "for directlydriving the lead screw 33of the transmission device 3% through a slip clutch, in'lieu of" thereversible driving'mechanism'of Figures 1 to 8, inclusive. 'I'his motor'581s controlled by a reversing switch 53 having an operatng lever 53connected by a link 6| with the frame of the conveyor F35 "Thearrangement is such that when theyolume of material orthe like depositedon tlie c'on'eyor i3 is sufficiently increased to cause saidconveyor I3to swing downwardly against the action of weight ;|5;'sw itch 59 isoperated to cause motored to turn lead screw 33 in proper direction forca-using'the'conveying belts 2| to be speeded 1 up. The arrangement isalso such that whenthe conveyor I3 andthe material fed there'tiofisoverbalanced by the weight 16 and'the conveyor l3 's'wing s upwardly dueto diminished supply of material or the like to said conveyor l3, theswitch 59 will cause the motor 58 to be reversed, This reversal of motor58 will cause rotation of lead screw 33 in the opposite direction sothat the conveying belts 2| are slackened in speed. Any suitable safetyslip clutch may be provided at 62 between the shaft of motor 58 and thelead screw 33 so that motor 58 may continue to operate after turninglead screw 33 to its limit of movement in either direction, withoutdamage to the lead screw 33 or parts actuated thereby.

In the embodiment of Figures 9 to 11, inclusive, the belts 55' and 5'!for operating the drum 5| may be driven by a belt gearing 63 from theshaft of motor 58 as shown in Figure 10. Otherwise, the embodiment ofFigure 9 to 11, inclusive, corresponds to that of Figures 1 to 8,inclusive, and remaining parts of both forms correspond and areindicated by similar reference characters.

The operation of the various elements and mechanisms has been explainedduring description of the construction, and it is accordingly believedthat the operation will be clearly understood by those skilled in theart without further explanation. Minor changes in structural details andfurther modifications are contemplated such as fall within the scope ofthe invention as claimed. It will be seen that the invention relates toan apparatus wherein the speed of movement of the trays past the hoppervaries in accordance with the volume of material fed to the trays.

What I claim is:

i. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of anendless belt-conveying means for continuously carrying receptacles pasta feed hopper, means for continuously delivering articles or the like tosaid feed hopper including a feed conveyor tiltable about a horizontalaxis, yieldable means acting to normally swing said feed conveyorupwardly, driving means for said conveying means including amotor-driven variable speed transmission device having a speed controlmechanism including a lead screw rotatable in opposite directions tovary'the speed of said conveying means, and reversible driving means forsaid lead screw connected and responsive to the tilting movements ofsaid feed conveyor for rotating the lead screw in a direction to slackenthe speed of the conveying means when the feed conveyor is swungupwardly by said yieldable means and for rotating the lead screw in theopposite direction to increase the speed of said conveyin means when thefeed conveyor is swung downwardly against the action of said yieldablemeans by the articles or the like supplied to the feed. conveyor.

2. ihe construction defined in claim 1, wherein said reversible drivingmeans includes a driven shaft geared to said lead screw, drive pulleysmounted above and below a belt of said conveying means for independentmovement toward and away from said belt, similar non-positive drivingconnections between said pulleys and said driven shaft, and meansconnecting the feed conveyor to said pulleys for moving one of thepulleys into engagement with said belt and the other pulley out ofengagement therewith when the feed conveyor is swung upwardly and formoving said one pulley out of engagement with said belt and the otherpulley into engagement therewith when the feed conveyor is swungdownwardly.

3. The construction defined in claim 1, in combination with a hopperarranged to receive the articles or the like from said feed conveyor andto discharge the same into the receptacles placed on said conveyingmeans, a normally open closure gate for the outlet of said hopper, andmeans operable by transverse vertical walls of said receptacles forclosing said closure gate when said walls are registered with the hopperoutlet and for permitting opening thereof when said walls move out ofregistry with said outlet.

4. The construction defined in claim 1, in combination with an endlessbelt supply conveyor for delivering the articles or the like to the feedconveyor, a vertically movable spreader for evenly spreading thearticles or the like on said endless belt supply conveyor, and meansoperated by said reversible driving means for raising said spreader whenthe conveying means is speeded up and for lowering the same when thespeed of said conveying means is slackened.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination ofendless belt receptacle conveying means, means for continuouslydelivering articles or the like to said conveying means including a feedconveyor tiltable about a horizontal taxis, yieldable means acting tonormally swing said feed conveyor upwardly, driving means for saidconveying means including a motordriven variable speed transmissiondevice having a speed control mechanism including a lead screw rotatablein opposite directions to vary the speed of said conveying means, and areversible driving motor for said lead screw connected and responsive tothe tilting movements of said feed conveyor for rotating the lead screwin a direction to slacken the speed of the conveying means when the feedconveyor is swung upwardly by said yieldable means and for rotating thelead screw in the opposite direction to increase the speed of saidconveying means when the feed conveyor is swung downwardly against theaction of said yieldable means by the articles or the like supplied tothe feed conveyor.

6. The construction defined in claim 5, in combination with a reversingswitch controlling the driving motor of said lead screw, and anoperating connection between said reversing switch and said feedconveyor.

PETER AUBERMAN.

